Top Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of All Time (with focus on religion)?

Many of the sci-fi blogs I read (IO9, Biology in Science Fiction, and SF Signal) mentioned NPR’s choice of their top 100 science fiction and fantasy books, and then asked for people to vote for their top 10.

Per Brad Matthies….I loved the Mars series. Just couldn’t figure out how to get to Mars by just staring at it, at 12 years old. I liked Brave New World, Time Machine, and Animal Farm (more political satire than SciFi). Voltere’s Candide, though not SciFi, really wacks religions of the time – and fits into fantasy, I would say, like Pirates of the Caribbean, only Sparrow always loses.

Anonymous

I would say that Herbert’s Destination: Void series should be on this list.

Bernie

A Canticle for Leibowitz, hands down.

Anonymous

To Open the Sky – Robert Silverberg Dimension of Miracles – Robert Sheckley The Chrysalids – John Wyndham The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester Hour of the Dragon – Robert E. Howard Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen – H. Beam Piper Behold the Man – Michael Moorcock Bring the Jubilee – Ward Moore The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick

http://digestofworms.blogspot.com admiralmattbar

You would like Mike Flynn’s Eifelheim. It’s about a historian in the near future and a priest in the middle ages. Also I, Robot has that story “Reason” in it which is pretty good.

Just Sayin’

C.S. Lewis science fiction trilogy.

http://www.arnizachariassen.com/ithinkibelieve Arni Zachariassen

*taking notes*

Eric Thurman

Geez, no William Gibson mentions? Neuromancer just about has to be on any Top 10 Sci-Fi list. I’d add the Bridge trilogy: Virtual Light (1993); Idoru (1996); and All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999).

http://www.facebook.com/danielconnell Daniel Connell

I whole-heartedly agree with the first three selections on your list. I would add Neal Stephenson’s Anathema.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1428470021 Jonathan Hendry

Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

Anonymous

Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut

http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Evans/100000619020207 David Evans

James Blish: A Case Of Conscience, Black Easter, The Day After Judgement, Doctor Mirabilis

Robert J. Sawyer: Calculating God

Patrick Tilley: Mission

Johnxroe

Canticle for Liebowitz Childhoods End Its a Good Life (short story)

Eriol11

I second “Anathema” and would suggest Dick’s “Ubik”.

http://www.patheos.com/community/exploringourmatrix/ James F. McGrath

I can’t believe I left Calculating God off, although it didn’t get mentioned in the NPR list. There are others that people have mentioned I would have too, but I have read only the short story that later got turned into a novel – e.g. A Canticle for Leibowitz and Behold the Man.

http://www.patheos.com/community/exploringourmatrix/ James F. McGrath

@80c82b1b143624027c0647704cb3faaa:disqus , I expected you to leap to the defense of The Sparrow in response to @d7f45ed2df049a7b0f21c07aab0c8c94:disqus ! I did not find Emilio Sanchez unbelievable, and found the two books to be a powerful exploration of theodicy, among other things. Would either of you care to say more?

http://twitter.com/sjthornton Susan Thornton

“Mysts of Avalon,” or are we only talking Judeo/Christian theology?

Anonymous

Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents Tananarive Due’s The Living Blood

Anonymous

Frank Herbert- The White Plague The priest’s role in that novel is crucial to understanding the context and the Catholic-Protestant divide in Ireland.

Revruthucc

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein has to be at the very top of my list in terms of exploration of religion as a sociological phenomenon. I second the works by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman mentioned above and would add American Gods by Gaiman, as well. Stephen Lawhead’s fantasies (particularly The Song of Albion series) are set beautifully within Celtic Christian tradition.

http://www.patheos.com/community/exploringourmatrix/ James F. McGrath

@Susan, it is not limited to Judeo-Christian religion by any means! Any and all stories at the intersection of any religion and any sort of Sci-Fi are welcome!

Ian Carmichael

Zelazny’s Lord of Light is interesting (as I remember.) Charles L. Harness’ Ring of Ritornel, Dick’s Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldridge are another three worth investigating. Eric Frank Russell’s short-short story ‘Sole Solution’ in Aldiss’ Penguin Science Fiction is also interesting reading.

http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Evans/100000619020207 David Evans

http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Evans/100000619020207 David Evans

PS

Just reading Robert J. Sawyer’s Neanderthal trilogy. Very interesting so far. Sort of a mirror image of Calculating God.

I’ll stop now.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MUIGGGWVZRPI7DRSO4ENSPPHCQ ConnorO

Somewhat surprised no one has mentioned Gene Wolfe. Religion is a major theme of much of his work, I’d say especially in the tetralogy The Book of the Long Sun, about a generation starship on which major dynastic and political personages of Earth have seemingly “uploaded” themselves as the Gods of “the Whorl” as the ship is called by its inhabitants.

It’s theoretically independent of the 1st tetralogy, The Book of the New Sun, that is, you can read the second without reading the first, but New Sun is so awesome I don’t know why you’d want to skip it (and it does also freature some religious themes, just not to the extent that Long Sun does). The whole sprawling series concludes with the trilogy The Book of the Short Sun, set after the generation ship has delivered the colonists to their new star system, and in a lot of ways it might be the best of the lot. I heartily recommend the whole thing, though eleven books (twelve, if you count the coda to New Sun, Urth of the New Sun) is rather a commitment of time and attention.

http://www.patheos.com/community/exploringourmatrix/ James F. McGrath

I am grateful for all these comments, since in addition to being proposals for the top books in this category, they are also helpful recommendations for things to read. Maybe I can even manage ConnorO’s series of twelve in the lead up to the next time I teach my class on religion and science fiction.